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A American legislative panel investigating pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has formally written to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew, asking that he participate in questioning as part of its probe into Epstein’s illegal activities.

In a communication published on Thursday, a lawmaker, the leading Democrat on the House investigative committee, urged that King Charles III’s sibling help with its inquiry.

The official demand to respond to queries follows a week after Mountbatten Windsor was lost his princely title and agreed to surrender his leased home in Windsor.

Records and Accusations

Mountbatten Windsor’s name is listed in records and travel logs secured from Epstein’s estate and publicly released by the committee. He has also been charged by one of Epstein’s accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault.

“The oversight committee will probe allegations of misconduct by Mountbatten Windsor, and will seek data on Epstein’s network, network, and associates based on the men’s longstanding and well-documented friendship,” the committee said in a announcement.

It demanded particulars from Mountbatten Windsor on details of his association with Epstein, who killed himself in a New York detention facility in 2019. Andrew has repeatedly strongly denied any wrongdoing.

Details of the Communication

“It has been documented that your relationship with Mr Epstein started in 1999 and that you continued associating through and after his 2008 guilty verdict for procuring minors for sex work,” the letter said.

It added: “It has also been claimed that you journeyed with Epstein to his New York residence, the Queen’s home at Balmoral, and to Mr Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, where you have been accused of harming young girls. This strong bond with Mr Epstein, coupled with the recently revealed 2011 email exchange in which you wrote to him ‘we are in this together’, further supports our concern that you may have key insights about the offenses committed by Mr Epstein and his partners in crime.”

A statement regarding the letter said it was supported by 13 other Democrats on the committee and requests a reply by 20 November.

Previous Statements and Assistance

The letter comes a week after another Democrat on the committee stated: “Andrew should be called to testify before the committee. The public should be able to know who was assaulting women and young girls alongside Epstein.”

However, the lawmaker does not have the power to legally require the ex-royal and Congress itself cannot oblige statements from a non-US citizen.

In 2020, US authorities said that Mountbatten Windsor neglected to reply to US requests for an meeting. The then US attorney for the southern district of New York said that lawyers and the FBI had approached Andrew’s legal team to follow up on his public commitment that he was “prepared to help any appropriate law enforcement agency”.

“It’s just for people to know whether Prince Andrew has fulfilled with that assurance,” the attorney said, adding that to date he had “provided absolutely no cooperation”.

Demands for Accountability

The representative said in a statement that “affluent and influential men have escaped the law for far too long. Now, ex- Prince Andrew has the chance to tell the truth and provide justice for the survivors. Oversight Democrats will not halt fighting for answerability and clarity for survivors of Epstein and his network of co-conspirators.”

Another endorser, a Virginia Democrat, said that after hearing evidence to the committee from Epstein’s accusers, as well as news accounts of leaked documents, “it is essential that Andrew assists with the current inquiry. If he is innocent, then he can prove his innocence.”

The lawmaker added: “And if not, our examination will show that, and the victims will receive belated accountability. The royal household’s actions taking away Andrew of his honors suggest there is more to this situation.”

The letter was issued on the same day the British king officially revoked Mountbatten Windsor of his princely title. Charles III formally made the change – which had been announced a week ago – by issuing a “letters patent” which the monarch’s office released in the Gazette, the UK’s government journal.